MNP response in Punjab not on expected lines: Tata Docomo

CHANDIGARH: Tata Docomo-part of Tata Teleservices today said it has not received a great response from implementation of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in Punjab and accused that certain cellular operators are not allowing post paid subscribers to port out.

"The response to MNP has not been that great here (in Punjab) what we had liked to achieve...because certain operators are not allowing their old post paid subscribers to port out by showing contractual obligations," Tata Docomo, Hub Head (Punjab, Haryana, HP), Aditya Gupta told reporters here today.

Gupta said the company had anticipated to corner at least 5 to 10 per cent of post paid subscribers in Punjab after the MNP roll out pan India in January this year.

"But we have been able to have 3 to 4 per cent of that..and the trend (of MNP) is also going downwards," he said.

MNP enables mobile users to retain their telephone numbers while switching from one mobile network operator to another.

According to Gupta, there may be 10 lakh post paid subscribers of all the cellular operators operating in Punjab.

Tata Docomo has 33 lakh subscribers, including CDMA in Punjab.

The much talked about MNP services was rolled out by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in January this year.